Assemblyman Mark Stone airs workplace needle concerns

Sacramento >> Assemblyman Mark Stone on Tuesday co-chaired a legislative hearing into the risk of improperly disposed needles, saying they are a growing public health risk.

The issue — which is related to an ongoing needle debate in Santa Cruz County — is one the Legislature has tried for several years to address. The Scotts Valley Democrat's efforts to force the industry to create a reclamation program failed last year, and Stone now wants pharmacists and others who sell needles to provide needle disposal containers.

"The easier you make it for the consumer to deal with the sharps that they have, then they don't end up in Coke bottles and all those other places, and just disposed of because they don't know what else to do with them," Stone said.

Tuesday's hearing focused on workplace safety, with needle sticks an issue not just in the health care industry, but in the food industry and at waste collection and recycling centers too.

The problem is likely to get worse, due not only to a growing population, but because the number of Americans with diabetes is skyrocketing. More than 20 million are estimated to have the disease, with a quarter of those requiring insulin injections.

If passed, Stone's needle container bill, AB 1893, would put more safe disposal containers in the hands of needle users. Currently, pharmacists may sell up to 30 needles without a prescription and state law bans throwing them away, but it's up to the consumer to dispose of needles properly.

Locally, many assign blame for improperly disposed needles to the county-run needle exchange program. Though records show the program collects more needles than it gives out, neighbors report finding spent needles around an Emeline Avenue health clinic where the exchange is located.

Needles are a potential form of disease transmission, though one researcher who testified Tuesday downplayed the scope of the problem. At one point, Dr. Janine Jason called the risk of a nonhealth care worker contracting a blood-born illness by needle stick "theoretical at best."

Stone questioned whether her data was complete, and a Los Angeles epidemiologist said the risk varies depending on the disease. Several locals have reported being stuck by needles at local parks and beaches, including children, though none are known to have contracted any diseases.

The hearing also focused on workplace safety, with one waste management executive saying the problem is severe enough that he personally would like to see workers vaccinated against Hepatitis B.

Barry Broad, a lobbyist for California Teamsters, which has been organizing workers at waste management and recycling centers, said workers fear being stuck and criticized manufacturer resistance to legislative proposals.

"This is one of those situations where the opponents have a thousand reasons to say no, but they never get to yes. They have a lot of reasons. Some of them are bogus reasons," Broad said.